


Prom King

by PeachChapstick



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, High School, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, One Shot, Prom, Prom Queen, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachChapstick/pseuds/PeachChapstick
Summary: Bucky Barnes wants Steve Rogers to love him back, but he knows the prom king is unattainable.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 13
Kudos: 47





	Prom King

There was something about being at a high school dance when you weren't popular that was just painful to Bucky. Of course, he could still have a fun time with his friends, but it didn't have all the magic that the movies portrayed. In fact, it was about the complete opposite of what the movies had shown. The amount of pain he felt watching the court being announced was nothing he'd felt before.

“We'll begin by announcing our court for prom queen,” Principal Fury began. “Wanda Maximoff, Peggy Carter, Elektra Natchios, and Pepper Potts.”

Bucky watched the girls walk on stage, all of them holding their heads high. He knew Natasha should've been up there, but she just didn't want it. She was voted into the court and turned it down. She was definitely the most beautiful girl in the junior class, and the most well liked. Why she spent so much time with Bucky, the nerdy kid, no one understood. But it didn't make them like her any less.

“Now for the boys,” Principal Fury announced. “Sam Wilson, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, and Steve Rogers.”

Bucky's heart swelled watching Steve walk onto the stage. He had always been his best friend, so he was proud of him. However, something inside of him was still sad.

Around age eight, Bucky discovered he was gay. He couldn't even describe how or why he knew, he just did. And ever since then he hid it from everyone, excluding Nat. In middle school, he realized he had a huge crush on Steve, his other best friend. He always concealed it, he didn't want to make Steve feel uncomfortable. But now, watching Steve live his life while he was stuck on the sidelines, Bucky felt like shit.

“Oh, I just know that it’s going to be Peter and Wanda. Everyone loves those two so much,” Natasha whispered to Bucky.

“Yeah, they’re the nice kids in school,” Bucky responded.

Natasha and Bucky did go to prom together as dates. Of course, Bucky was gay and Natasha had a long distance boyfriend, but neither of them wanted to go date-less. Natasha had picked out the most gorgeous emerald green ball gown with a lace top and off the shoulder sleeves. Bucky had expected her to pick out a tight dress to show off her figure, but she rarely did that. And besides, this dress made her look like an actual princess. Bucky was wearing a normal black suit with an emerald green tie and pocket square. They had looked at getting him a suit that was all emerald green, but the ones they could find were all absolutely atrocious.

All the boys were now standing on the left side of the stage and all the girls were on the right side of the stage. Last year’s prom king and queen, Pietro Maximoff and Jane Foster, stood behind each group with the crowns. The king crown was, per usual, ugly. However, the queen crown was delicate and extra sparkly this year. A small part of Bucky was sad that Natasha had turned down the opportunity to win it. Everyone knew she would’ve won.

Every year, the past king and queen had a stupid tradition of hovering the crowns randomly over the court’s heads and then finally setting it down on the head of the new king or queen. This year was no different. It felt like Jane moved the crown around for ten minutes before finally putting it on Peggy Carter. Peggy was a nice girl. That was pretty much all Bucky knew about her and all he cared to know about her. She was good friends with Steve, but Bucky never took the time to get to know her. He knew Steve had a crush on her, so it would be painful. Peggy was wearing the most basic prom dress style imaginable. It was powder blue and satin, with that classic prom dress shape. The crown complimented the dress very well. Her reaction to the crown was the usually clasp hands over mouth and gasp. Everyone clapped for her. Bucky was regretting his choice to attend his junior prom.

Now it was time to crown the king. Unlike the queen, it seemed Pietro basically just set the crown on Steve’s head right away. Bucky felt his stomach sink as soon as he saw it. Steve was wearing a powder blue suit to match Peggy, and it looked incredible on him. Bucky couldn’t help wishing he was the one matching Steve. As Peggy and Steve stood at the front of the stage for photos, Steve looked out and smiled at Bucky. It was evident that he was happy to win prom king alongside his long time crush.

Bucky felt like he was going to throw up.

Bucky fought his way through the crowd, rushing out to the hallway. He didn’t even know what to do at this point. There was a weight on his chest, his heart was pounding, his head was spinning, and his stomach was turning. It didn’t take long for Natasha to join him.

“Bucky, what’s wrong?” Nat asked, setting her hand on his forearm. 

“I should never have come to this stupid dance in the first place,” Bucky ranted. “I have to go home. I can’t  _ do  _ this anymore. I can’t do  _ any  _ of this anymore.”

“Any of what, Buck?” Nat questioned.

“All of this,” Bucky said, his voice getting louder and more passionate as he continued. “I can’t just sit back and watch all this anymore. I’m done with hiding who I am and my feelings. I don’t want you to be the only one who knows I’m gay. I don’t want to sit back and watch the boy I love fall in love with someone else and gradually drift away from me. It’s so unfair that I don’t get to live that nice high school dream all because of my sexuality. I’m so done.  _ So  _ done.”

Natasha nodded and reasoned, “Hey, I understand. It’s hard. And I’ll help you figure it out. We can fix everything and get you that good high school dream life. We still have another year left.”

“I can’t wait that long, I need to go tell Steve now. Even if I get rejected, I can say I at least tried. I’ve spent too long being heartbroken over his straightness to never shoot my shot,” Bucky decided.

“I mean, I’m not going to stop you. I’m sure Steve will remain your friend no matter what. But you know how much he likes Peggy,” Nat stated.

“It doesn’t even matter, I just need to let him know. He might like me more,” Bucky said.

He took a few deep breaths before walking back into the ballroom. He did a quick scan of the room to locate Steve so he could make his confession. Bucky found him on the side of the dance floor. With Pegging. Sharing a passionate first kiss.

Bucky just stared at them. How badly he wished he could be Peggy.

It was useless. Steve would never want him. He was straight: he’d be grossed out by Bucky’s crush. Bucky would never get the prom king. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you liked this, please check out my other one-shot or my chaptered story updated weekly. I really appreciate the support!


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